Night fell on a desolate burial hill. Moonlight filtered through the leaves, scattering across the ground like the shadow of a bird. The light flickered over a lonely gravestone, giving the place an eerie, desolate feel. Weeds grew thick around it. A black beetle gnawed at a stem, only to be snapped in half by a centipede-like creature.

Crunch.

Heavy footsteps followed, crushing the centipede underfoot.

"Hurry up! Lock down Lost Path Mountain. No one is allowed to get in!" a middle-aged officer barked.

His features were sharp, his build powerful. Though his expression was resolute, there was a hint of uncertainty in his eyes.

More soldiers poured in; soon there were hundreds, then thousands. Armored vehicles rolled into position. Fighter jets circled overhead. For the first time, the barren mountain was crowded with people, but no one had come to mourn the dead.

Fragments of conversation drifted through the skies.

"Is it really true?"

"This is insane..."

"A joke from the gods?"

"The outside world's already in chaos, it's like the end of days."

"I heard over a hundred people tried to break through checkpoints earlier and they were all shot."

"Figures. Probably those rich bastards' lackeys."

Li Shenkong stepped forward, his boots brushing through the grass. His expression grew complicated after listening to the chatter.

"A world reset...?"

"A joke from the Creator?"

"You've got to be kidding..."

"But if it's real..."

A day ago, every human on Arch Star—whether asleep, working, or hauling bricks on a construction site—heard the same cold, emotionless voice in their minds. "In 24 hours, the world will reset. Ninety-nine individuals—including An Zhentian, Ashura, Qi Yuan, Zheng Xi—will return to ten years in the past with their memories intact."

Everyone heard it, even the deaf. The world erupted into chaos. Some dismissed it outright, others lost all restraint. If everything was about to reset anyway, why not do whatever they wanted? Killing, assault, looting, smashing, burning—chaos ravaged what had once been a civilized society.

Meanwhile, the ninety-nine individuals destined to return were swiftly taken under the control of governments around the world. In the Qin Yuan Kingdom alone, there were thirty-five such people. One of them was here, on Lost Path Mountain.

The rebooters were treated like prized livestock, divided up among the great families of the Seven Martial Stars. After all, someone who could return to the past with their memories intact held immense potential for the various great families. They could very well reshape the power structure of the Qin Yuan Kingdom, or perhaps even the entire world.

Of course, there was also the possibility that the voice everyone heard was nothing more than a hoax. Even so, Li Shenkong had received orders from above to seal off Lost Path Mountain. According to their investigation, one of the rebooters was located here, though he was rather unusual.

"Report, sir, the Gongyi family has arrived."

The voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Li Shenkong's expression immediately turned serious.

The Qin Yuan Kingdom was ruled jointly by the royal family and the Seven Martial Stars. But in truth, the twenty-one powerful clans within the Seven Martial Stars were the ones calling the shots. Even if the Gongyi family had declined and was on the verge of losing its seat, it was still one of them.

Five planes landed in quick succession at the temporary airstrip. More than twenty people hurried over, their expressions tense.

"Elder Cai," Li Shenkong greeted.

Gongyi Cai gave him a brief nod, his face lined with exhaustion. "What's the situation?"

"We've located the target's grave. It hasn't been excavated yet," Li Shenkong replied truthfully.

The men and women behind Gongyi Cai grew angry. If what everyone heard was real, then establishing ties with a rebooter ahead of time would be an enormous advantage for their family. Yet the one assigned to them was already dead. How were they supposed to work with that?

Everyone wore grim expressions. Fortunately, the Gongyi family still had some standing. Aside from this dead rebooter, there was another one they could share with another family. The group sent here basically wasn't important.

"Take me there," Gongyi Cai said in a low voice.

No matter what, they had to at least see the remains. The family's orders had to be carried out. Even if no agreement could be reached, they would still place one in the grave. Just in case the person really did come back to life and found it. Though, realistically, the odds were practically zero.

Before long, the group arrived at a desolate grave. It was clear no one had visited in years, as the grave was overgrown with weeds.

Gongyi Cai glanced at it, took the flowers handed to him, and placed them before the tombstone. The others followed suit. For the first time in a long while, the lonely grave was covered in offerings. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

At that moment, a secretary-like figure stepped forward with a stack of documents. "Name: Qi Yuan. Born... deceased at the age of nineteen, nine years ago. Cause of death: cerebral hemorrhage."